Pretty good mood

"Did you sleep well, Mr. Boardmann?" I asked.

"Better than the previous night again. It's steadily improving. Are you asking because you want to devise a scale of sleep quality for me? Your scale of emptiness not enough to keep you busy?" He said.

His eyes were sparkling now and there was a hint of withheld laughter. I smiled a little embarrassedly. Perhaps I had overdone it with my places to visit in the suburbs research for him.

"Dear Lila, did you sleep well?" He asked me.

No one had asked me whether I slept well before, and honestly, whilst I did sleep, I had not slept soundly like a baby in ages.

"I was never a sound sleeper. I wake up a few times at night. I twist and turn in bed. This has been ongoing for years that it has become the norm for me. I accept it as part of my routine." I said.

"I see. I think that is also a reason why you cannot afford to spend the night with clients. You'll roll them over the bed." He said, with a rogue smile.

He seemed to be in a pretty good mood. I was at ease now, and I smiled again.

"Probably, so beware the steamroller call girl who flattens everyone in bed." I said.

"Actually, I would take my chances for so lovely a woman. It's a risk worth taking." He said.

He had a mischievous look about him now.

"Well, you have been forewarned." I said.

At that exact moment, our gazes locked and I felt butterflies in my stomach.

"You're a walking rainbow today!" He chuckled.

"Oh." I replied.

I have heard of walking dictionaries, but never walking rainbows. He was making fun of me. Clearly he did not like my attire.

"You made a good choice. This dress is lovely and it suits you." He said, in a pleasant voice.

"Oh." I murmured again.

I could never have imagined that to be called walking rainbow was actually a compliment. It was something to be jotted down in my notebook.

He had been aware that my little black dresses limited my movement. His retort that I gained no pleasure from sitting up straight while babysitting him was fresh on my mind. I wore a comfortable, flowy dress today as it would enable me to bend my knees should I need to be by his bedside tonight. Sitting on bended knees, I felt less restricted. I felt I could comfort him more.

Though he occasionally spoke to me with arrogance as if he were evaluating me, he spoke about himself the same way with haughtiness too. He viewed himself in a somewhat depreciating and condescending manner. I had thought that the term babysitting was somewhat degrading to be applied to a grown man and he had no qualms about talking about himself being babysitted. I wondered how he thought, and how his ego functioned. He had spoken about always getting what wanted. I had thought that this denoted an arrogant character who would never admit any signs of weakness. Yet he had confided in me, showing me a vulnerable side inherent in him.